Thursday, December 11, 2014

I made a dozen or more for my Christmas market. A little forest of patchwork Christmas trees!

I wanted a country-style look and was inspired by bits of fabric, colorful papers, baker's twine and stamps. Sometimes I think I could be a full-time card designer and crafter. I have an old-fashioned love for handwritten messages! I have to thank my mom for that. When I was little we were constantly moving around so she was always writing letters to friends and family. She insisted that my brother and I do the same. I am grateful to her for that!

I like to stamp the back of the card with my shop logo.

Christmas is festive in bold colors but just as lovely in pretty pink and pastel blues. I'm kind of in love with that tree in frosty and feminine fabrics.

Most of my cards sold so now I'm busy crafting some more that we can send off to our friends. I am experimenting with my new embossing powders and heat tool that I have wanted for years and finally bought! I will share those creations with you soon!

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

I know you are curious about my market and I am happy to say it was a lovely weekend once again with lots of sales.
One of the best parts though is when I have a helper and I can sneak away for a ride on this carriage. How I enjoy the clop-clop and jingle bells of the horses! With the half-timbered houses, fairy lights in the twillight, hot spiced-wine to sip, and a brass band playing carols, Christmas in Germany is really all my romantic heart yearns for this time of the year!
I never would have dreamed I would be able to sell my crafts at a market like this! I'm so grateful to so many friends and people we know for stopping by to say hello because the days are long and cold, I am also thankful to our super nice neigbhor who for the third year has lended me his portable heater which I could not survive without! At this point I should probably invest in my own, although I'm not sure if I'll do this market next year or try a more arts and crafts type of indoors show. We will see.

(Sorry for the blurry photo but you get the idea!)
One thing that was new this year was a collabaration with my artist friend Dagmar who joined me to exhibit some of her jewelry at my booth. Dagmar is super creative and artistic and a lovely person and I was thrilled to have her with me. Her jewelry and my fabric creations really complimented each other well and we both had fun selling. Here is a bracelet I bought from her, actually to give to someone else although I would kind of like to keep it for myself now!

She also sold dozens of whimsical collage magnets in various styles. I bought a few and they are already adorning our fridge.

Aren't they fun? I love the Italy map and coin!

Is it Wednesday already? Time is flying! Stay tuned, I have some lovely cards I will share with you tomorrow.

Friday, December 5, 2014

One of the things people always ask for at my markets is cell phone cases.

In the past I have been hesitant to sew something like this because there are so many different sizes and formats.

However, this year I have prepared a dozen or so in a size that fits both of my sons' (slightly differently sized) phones. I hope it is versatile enough! And of course I love to do custom orders if anyone needs a special size and can wait.

It was fun putting together lots of great fabric combinations from my stash. They are padded and fully lined with a coordinating fabric which unfortunately I wasn't able to capture in the photos (usually a plain, gingham, or tiny polka-dotted fabric in a similar color).

Wish us good weather and lots of sales tomorrow and Sunday and thanks for looking!

Thursday, December 4, 2014

This weekend I will be showing and selling my crafts at a local Christmas market. Can hardly believe this is the 3rd time I'm going to do this show! I've noticed people come back and ask for the same things, so I have a bit of the "old" but my mind is always spinning around new ideas and I've been really busy creating new things!

I've taken lots of photos as hopefully many of the items will be in their new homes next week! In the next few posts I will share some of the things I've made.

For my first post, we'll start with little handmade ornaments that were so fun to create. Felt and sequins are my some of my favorite Christmas materials. I love the warmth of the felt and the rich colors. And the sparkle of the sequins catching the light of candles or Christmas lights is lovely.

I've made hearts with buttons and little toadstools....

Gingerbread men and pretty cupcakes.....

A host of whimsical angels, with heart-shaped wings and details on both sides....

Can't live without owls anymore, can you?

I might just love these little snowmen the best! They will be perfect in January for winter decorations as well.

I've hung some of my favorite ornaments on evergreens in a vase with some other decor in my staircase. I hope they find new homes, but I'm going to have a make a few for myself to keep!